A hair styling device is described in WO95/22920, by the present inventor. WO95/22920 discloses a method of styling a length (or tress) of hair by inserting the length of hair into a resilient tube of latex or the like, the tube being stretched lengthwise and the ends of the tube being secured to respective parts of the length of hair. The resilient tube is allowed to contract whereupon the contained length of hair is forced into a wavy form. The hair can be treated before or after insertion into the tube so that the wavy form is maintained after the hair has been removed from the tube.
WO95/22920 also describes a device for use in the method. Improved devices for use in similar hair styling methods are described in the inventor's later applications WO97/46132, WO00/57744, WO00/08967 and WO2012/153118.
All of the above-described documents drive a length of hair into a wavy form and can be described as hair waving devices. The present invention similarly drives a length of hair into a wavy form, but uses an alternative method and an alternative apparatus.
Another type of hair styling device is described in each of WO2009/077747, WO2012/080751 and WO2013/186547. These documents describe devices in which a length of hair is wound around an elongate member so that the length of hair is formed into curls rather than waves.
Hair crimpers also force a length of hair into a wavy form, the crimpers comprising a pair of plates each having a series of corrugations of substantially triangular form. The plates are designed to fit together with the peaks of the corrugations of one plate fitting into the troughs of the corrugations of the other plate, and vice versa. The plates are usually heated so as to style the hair into the desired crimped form. The waves which are created by hair crimpers are typically much smaller in amplitude and wavelength than those created by the methods and apparatus of the patent documents listed above.
A “hair waver” is a product which is similar to hair crimpers in that the hair is clamped between two complementary heated surfaces. In hair wavers the complementary surfaces are usually curved with a relatively large radius of curvature so that the waves in the user's hair are considerably larger than those formed by crimpers. Particular products of this type are referred to as a “jumbo waver” or “deep waver” to emphasise the relatively large size of the waves which are produced in the length of hair.